Stories of the Apocalypse: Feverish
by Lady Monk
Summary: He had theories that the government was behind this. I don't blame him, who wouldn't think it's their fault when the news reporter wore an all too fake smile and spoke with a syrupy sweet voice. It felt like brainwash, and soon enough nonno shut off the tv and instead focused his eyes on the street. "The truth lay there," he would tell me. And it did.
1. Prologue

This is a note from the author quickly before you read: I know it seems unorthodox and a little irritating (You came here for Spamano! Not a lengthy prologue!) But I just want it to be known that this prologue is extremely important if you want to be able to understand the beginning of Feverish. The point of this is that it is going to split off into a separate fanfic following Alfred's point of view in this apocalyptic world. When I wrote this prologue, I wrote the first chapter to Feverish and will be adding it alongside. Try not to skip ahead, you'll be pretty confused. Also, who doesn't want a little mystery in a story, hm?

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You'd think the end of the world would be something you'd notice; the screaming people in the streets, the loud gun shots, and watching someone cannibalize another person from outside your apartment bedroom window. But nope, I didn't notice a single god damned thing was amiss until I tried to turn on my computer and it wouldn't turn on. I even conveniently missed the thick cloud of smoke that choked my city as it burned to the ground. Guess that really says a lot about how much I like going outside.

I thought it had been my computer; the old thing was on its last breath and needed new parts. Just last night I had been complaining to my roommates how shitty the thing ran. It sounded less like a computer and more like a jet taking off down the runway. I sat there for several minutes, fiddling with the power source, pressing the button and waiting to hear the screaming parts start. The thought that it might blow up had crossed my mind, but being a college student really made it difficult to afford high end computer pieces.

But yeah, today had been the day, or so I thought. Frustrated, I trudged over to Antonio's room and banged on the door. The thud that rang out sounded odd, considering my apartment is never quiet. I waited a few moments before turning the handle, stepping inside. "Stop whatever you're doing, I'm comin' in."

Antonio was still in bed, asleep and snoring. Drool was dripping down his chin and one of his hairy legs was wrapped around the body pillow he had insisted on buying on one of our IKEA trips. He was snoring loudly, a pleasant look on his face. It must have been a good dream. I went over to his bed and ripped the bed sheets off of him.

"Dude, wake up. I need to borrow your laptop." I shouted, yet still he snored. If sleeping was a worldwide sport, Antonio would be the number one champion. And I thought I was bad. Often times I'd wake up five minutes before class started, rushing to get ready and head out the door and around the block to our campus. Antonio arrived one hour into the lecture, most of the time in his pajamas or a robe and slippers. He'd open his laptop up to take notes, mostly copying what I had written beforehand, which of course was probably wrong but who cares really. After ten minutes into the lecture, he'd open up a new tab and play games like "Block in the Pig" and "Parking Mania", occasionally switching back over to jot down notes.

I shoved Antonio hard where he slept, and he only teetered back and forth, groaning and rolling over with his body pillow on top of him. I gave up with an exasperated sigh and turned around to leave the room, slamming the door shut behind me hard enough to wake everyone else in the building. Naturally, it didn't wake my stubborn roommate.

My feet slapped against the linoleum tile of the kitchen as I staggered in. I opened up the fridge and squinted to see the contents in the dark; I could see that we were nearly out of milk. Wait. Why was it dark?

The cold seeped out of the fridge, chilling my legs slowly and making goose bumps rise on my skin as I came to the terms with what was happening. Maybe my computer wasn't broken after all? I quickly shut the door of the fridge to keep the frigid air inside and went over to the blinds, pulling the string and letting the noon light in. I covered my eyes, expecting the light to shine brightly through. After all, the forecast did predict a sunny day. I only knew that because I was checking to see if we'd get a snow day, as I pretty much did all the time.

But I wasn't greeted by sun. Dark, black, billowing clouds escaped from the main part of the city. It cast dark shadows across the town and ash was falling delicately to the ground as it was carried by the wind. My stomach turned, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It was literally as if it were straight from a horror movie.

I stumbled backward from the window, dashing through the small living room. I yelped loudly as a spike of pain traveled up my leg when I slammed my toe against the base of the standing lamp in. My face met the carpet, and I grimaced as it burned against my flesh. The lamp fell on top of my back, and I flinched as it made impact. That would bruise for sure, I could already feel the tenderness on my back as I lifted myself up from the floor. I pushed the lamp, setting it up straight and hobbled on one foot into Antonio's room.

"Dude, this is actually serious you need to get up." I yelled, setting my foot on Antonio's bed and rubbing my stubbed toe.

All I got in return was a loud groan, and he just rolled over onto his other side.

"Antonio, wake the fuck up man, the city is on _fire!_ " He opened his eyes which were narrowed in his sleep state.

"It is?" He mumbled lazily. "Cool, class is cancelled."

"No, dude, everything is out. The power, probably the water… This doesn't look good." Alright, I may seem like a big tough guy. I'm six foot two and built for sports, and I got into college for my talent in basketball. I could probably knock out most people in a fight. Yet here I was, quaking in my boots like a scared child stuck inside of a brutal horror movie. I mean, I practically was. The city was on fire and I don't think I saw anyone around. We should be out of here; we should be running for our lives. How could we have possibly just _missed_ the call for evacuation?

Antonio sat up, rubbing his eyes again and running his tanned fingers through dark brown curly locks. "I swear if this is a joke, Alfred, I will never believe another word you say." He set his feet to the floor, yawning and getting his bearings before he stood and sauntered over to the window. He probably thought that I was joking, I don't blame him, I don't think I would have believed myself either. When he opened the blinds he hissed at the light and then slowly adjusted. His jaw dropped and I could only imagine what he was thinking as he stared out into our desolate city. The ashes had created a light coat of gray snow in the grass, the burnt out embers ranging from the size of peas to the size of lemons. It looked like the world had suddenly been sapped of all its colorful beauty and replaced by a monotonous grayscale horror.

Antonio swallowed, and I could tell he was really trying to answer the questions I was asking myself. Instead, he turned around and exited his room, leaving without getting dressed and abandoning the window. I followed behind him quietly, we could only speculate on what the actual hell was happening.

We entered the third bedroom in our apartment. Antonio and I's other two roommates shared a bunk bed. The deal was that whoever had to share their own room each got their own bathroom to themselves. Antonio and I were more than willing to let the two have their own bathrooms. Francis would take forever to shower and get ready. Gilbert sang loudly and always blew out the toilet. He got the bathroom farthest away from the rooms and Francis got the one attached to their room.

Francis was in the bathroom now brushing his long blond hair with the door cracked open. He sat in a cushioned chair, looking in the mirror as he combed through his hair. He cocked his head back to look at us. He pursed his lips, the corner of them turned down in a pout. "Think it's funny to turn off my water? Are you trying to play some sort of funny joke on me? You better sleep with one eye open because I'll give you a makeover like you wouldn't believe, you'll look like a dr-" He stopped and examined our faces. My eyes shifted to Antonio, who had this haunted look in his eyes. His green gaze met mine for a brief second. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you look outside?" I asked, my voice hoarse and unsteady. I felt as if that was the last of my air. Francis set his hair brush down on the bathroom sink counter. The quiet clack could be heard. His sock covered feet brushed over the carpet fibers and he opened up the window.

" _Sacre bleu,_ " He whispered then he turned to me. Antonio had remained stuck in place as if his feet were cemented to the floor. He leaned heavily against the white wooden bathroom door. Slowly, he slumped down and brought his knees up to his chest as he sat there on the floor. This was hitting him quite hard, and neither Francis nor I bothered him. Gilbert had woken up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes and bringing a pale hand to his face.

"What time is it?" He asked, his deep voice scratchy and parched.

"We don't know," I answered quietly, my lips drawn into a fine line. Francis was pacing back and forth, his gaze never leaving the image of our burning city. Gilbert's face contorted in confusion. He snorted and then grabbed his alarm clock to check the time. After seeing the empty screen, he tossed his clock to the side. The clock hit the nightstand before bouncing over the edge. It swung back and forth on its cord lazily banging into the wood until it lost its momentum.

"Are you trying to pull a prank on me?" Gilbert asked with his brows furrowed and his lips curled into a sneer. He snapped his sights to Francis who was still looking out the window with a lost look painted all over his face. "And Francis what the hell are you looking at out there?" Gilbert craned his neck, his palms smacking against the nightstand as he maneuvered himself to look out. He nearly slipped off his bed, just barely catching himself on the metal of the upper bunk. "What the fuck?" He breathed the words out, shocked as we all were.

Antonio mumbled something, and I shot him a look. "What was that?" I asked, trying to be gentle. Antonio appeared to look as fragile as an expensive glass vase. If I wasn't too careful, he'd shatter.

"Lovino," he spoke up, pulling his head from his hands. "Lovino is out there, I have to go help him." He stood up and exited the room in such a frantic manner. I chased him to catch up, putting my hand on his bare shoulder.

"Put something on first and we'll all go out together. We'll all go find Lovino." I reasoned. It wasn't even a question. We weren't going to leave Antonio to do this alone. I looked around the room. "Right, guys?"  
Francis seemed hesitant, looking over at Gilbert for his answer. "Alright," Gilbert responded after his own moments of hesitation. My gaze traveled to Francis. From my peripheral vision I could see the almost begging look plastered all over Antonio's face.

Francis sighed. "Okay," he whispered.

So then it was decided. We were going out to find Lovino and investigate. It's time to find out what happened to our city. I left Gilbert and Francis's room with Antonio, heading down the hall. I was stopped when I felt Antonio's firm grip on my shoulder.

"Thank you," Antonio spoke with genuine sincerity. He was worried, and he had every right to be.

I slipped my hands into my sweatpants pockets. "It's no problem, really. You would do the same for any of us," I gave him a reassuring grin and he seemed to relax a little. But he only did a little. "Let's go get ready. We're going to find Lovino."

After everyone had gotten dressed, we headed to the door. I grabbed the handle and pulled. One by one we filed out into the hall; I went first followed closely by Antonio. The other two lagged behind, fearful. I could hear Francis whimper quietly in the silent hall, followed by the harsh hiss of Gilbert shushing him. I gave them a look of warning. Everything was pitch black in the hall. I pulled my phone from my pocket and swiped up, pressing the flashlight button. The white light ripped through the darkness and made it easier for us to see. I could feel Antonio's hand on the bottom of my shirt, and looking behind me I noticed we'd formed some sort of line. Together, we advanced to the fire escape door, which was shut tightly. I held up one hand, holding up three fingers and slowly lowering each one. My fingers gripped the door handle, turning it slowly as my last finger lowered. I pushed it open, and got some resistance. I pushed again, much harder this time, and it gave way. The culprit behind the blocked door was a large suitcase, and the luggage tumbled down the stairs loudly. It banged against every stair, sending the crashes echoing through the emptiness. I clenched my jaw, my eyes open wide. Francis cried out. Gilbert grabbed him from behind and put a hand over his mouth to silence him. That was when I saw it, my flashlight was aimed at Francis and Gilbert, and the two of them winced at the light until it was moved. Someone was moving in the background. Fingers drummed against the apartment door fifteen feet away and pried it open haphazardly, making its way into the hall and advancing toward us with clumsy steps.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and I stumbled backward down the stairs, nearly losing my footing if it weren't for Antonio grabbing my hoodie and yanking me upright. The others must not have seen it, but my heart was beating hard and I was breaking out into a cold sweat. I could have had a heart attack when I noticed Gilbert not shutting the door. "S-shut the door, holy shit, man." Gilbert took on a look of alarm and he shut the door.

"What the fuck, man? What's the point no one is-"

 _Thunk, thunk, thunk._ Something was growling low on the other side of the door. I didn't think it was possible for someone as pale as Gilbert was to get any paler, but he looked white as a sheet of paper. Every vein in his body was visible. Gilbert pulled his hand away quickly, looking down at it quickly before giving Francis a look of disgust as he wiped his wet hand on his pants. The banging on the door continued, and I shuddered at what could have happened.

We didn't say anything, too painfully aware that we shouldn't make any noise in case there were… More of whatever that horror might have been. I knew what it could have been, but I thought that stuff was saved for the movies, not for my real world. I didn't want to deal with it. Everyone jokes about how they'd deal with a zombie apocalypse, what friends they'd go to. They were all amped up, and I won't lie, I am one of the fools that believed I'd always have what tools I'd need. Everyone acted like they were incredibly well prepared for the end of the world, especially for an invasion of zombies. But the truth of the matter was that we were literally descending the stairs of a probably infested apartment building without any light aside from my phone's flashlight and absolutely no weapons at all to defend ourselves. In short, we were pretty fucked.

We went down to the second landing, the fire door was shut tight, barricaded with suitcases the same way ours was. I decided that maybe it was better to not open that door. We were as quiet as mice scampering down the stairs. We stopped in front of the fire door that led to the first floor. If we were going to get out, that was the way to go.

There weren't any visible barricades on this door. I stopped to consider the possibility that we'd basically be free going out. This was the way to get of the building. We'd just have to make a run for it. I opened the door quickly, and then let go of the handle. That was my first mistake.

It swung open, far from my grasp. My flashlight shined brightly against the rotted flesh of the living dead. Francis let out a shrill screech, and the heads of the reanimated rolled slowly in our direction. Their eye sockets were hollowed out, glazed over with the empty look of death evident in them. But there was something else. I heard their jaws crack as they opened their mouth, exercising their teeth and clicking them together. Just like the first one that I had seen, they began to walk toward us. There were at least four visible.

 _One for each of us._ I couldn't help that thought. Then I saw more come out of the shadows, and the growling turned into a gargled roar. I turned around and shoved my way past the others, my flashlight creating a strobe effect as I ran, not really pointing it toward anything. I turned to see if the others were following me.

I let out a breath of relief as they were following my lead. We were at the second landing, and the zombies were on their way up. They were slow, but their arrival could only be seconds away. Gilbert ran to the barricade, grabbing a heavy suitcase with effort. Antonio and I ran over to help him. Francis ducked out of the way. We didn't even count, there was no time.

The second floor landing window shattered into pieces as we heaved it out the window. It clattered onto the roof, ripping off shingles before it crashed onto the cream colored pavement. Francis was the first one out, jumping over the glass and onto the roof. He nearly fell but Antonio dived after him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him upright. I climbed out next, offering my hand to Gilbert to help him out.

"Look out!" I screamed, and Gilbert turned around just in time. He raised his leg up to kick at one of the flesh eaters who were just about to take a bite out of his shoulder. The zombie fell back into the pack, but the others weren't fazed. They just changed their direction to walk around the former pack leader. Gilbert scrambled up onto the roof in a panic, he was breathing heavily and his eyes were open so wide you could see the whites. Antonio was helping Francis scale the building. The much more athletic Spaniard had an easier time keeping his grip on the window frames and piping. Francis would follow, but he was definitely out of his element. I could tell it took him a lot to steady himself because he was shaking so badly.

The zombies were fighting to crawl on top of one another, hands reaching toward Gilbert and I like a beggar asks for coins. Their growls had gotten louder. We both knew what they wanted. Antonio reached the ground first and held out his arms to catch Francis. Francis didn't want to let go, he was clinging to the window sill and shaking his head frantically. Gilbert started to scale the building now, and I followed after him just in time. One of the zombies had finally crawled over the other, but the incline was too much for its poor sense of balance. It toppled over the side of the roof, spinning and rolling until it hit the pavement with a thwack. I didn't see where it had landed; it slid off the other side of the roof.

Gilbert had caught up to Francis, and I couldn't quite hear what they were saying until I got in range.

"You need to let go, Francis. Antonio is going to catch you!" Gilbert was rambling, repeating it over and over. Francis was whimpering, shaking his head back and forth. He was too afraid to let go, and that was starting to spell doom for Gilbert and I. We weren't going to be able to hang from the siding forever, and who knows what could come and get us. Oh right, maybe something like the living dead. Antonio was at risk as well. He couldn't sit here and wait until Francis fell off. Gilbert understood that as well. He clung to the siding tight with his fingers and let one foot dangle down. It connected with Francis's face, and Gilbert shoved with force. Francis fell, and Antonio caught him easily.

Gilbert wasted no time, and neither did I. We climbed down the building siding and made our run for it, dragging Francis along with us. He was crying still, but honestly that didn't seem to matter. We all felt like crying. Who wouldn't feel like crying when we just got chased by fucking _zombies?_

We were running for a while. None of us had cars, we were just freshmen in college and the campus was relatively close. All of us were on edge, and gradually Francis had calmed down. We'd see several of those things roaming, patrolling the streets. Lifeless eyes searched for their next meal. Hopefully we wouldn't be. We had taken extra precautions to avoid them if we could. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that you're actually in a real life zombie apocalypse. I was reeling over the idea. It made me sick to my stomach. I had let Antonio take point to lead us to where Lovino would be. We were heading into the city, it made my heart bounce into my throat, and I swallowed nervously. My throat was dry from running so much.

We stopped at the bridge. The highway was packed with cars, abandoned. Not a soul stirred. I had broken out into a cold sweat, and I felt the drops travel down my back, staining the shirt underneath my hoodie. The falling ash had picked up as we got into the city. Certain buildings were still on fire, others were piles of ash broken down to their basic foundations. The skyscraper apartments and hotels had taken damage, but all appeared somewhat fine since they were still standing tall. My anxiety was spiking. Every sheet of paper blowing in the wind down the street was a zombie, and every crackling fire hid their hungry growls. We made our way down the avenues, taking winding turns, left then right and left again. Antonio seemed to have memorized the path by heart.

It was odd that we were in the city, yet we hadn't run into a single one of the things. It left the air heavy with tension. My heart was on a rampage, it was pounding so loudly in my chest I'm sure everything could hear it in a mile radius. I shuddered at the thought. We passed the high school that we graduated from just the year prior. I tried not to recognize the faces of those roaming mindlessly through the fenced in teacher's parking lot. Blood stained the asphalt. Scattered body parts laid around as casually as a dirty sock on the floor. There were no bodies around. A tank rested at the chain fence, where it remained unmoving. It seemed so foreign there. Such a powerful, large, hunk of metal made to destroy things at a place of learning. I didn't understand how we could have possibly missed all of this. Every single one of us woke up to quite literally, a world on fire.

I didn't have time to spare the state of society any further as we moved around to the back of the school where kids used to sneak out when skipping class to drink and smoke, waiting for the day to end. Cigarette buds littered the ground along with broken glass and empty, crushed up cans. There were a few needles as well. Antonio approached the window, and I stepped forward, grabbing his arm. I shook my head frantically, and Antonio's eyebrows curved upward.

"I doubt he's in there," I reasoned. "He has to be at his building. School had to have been let out. I mean, Christ, there was a tank outside. Plus we don't know what's in there… There was only a couple outside at the front." Antonio seemed to dwell on this only for a moment, and then nodded.

We travelled along the outskirts of the city, heading down several blocks to try and find Lovino or anyone else for that matter, alive. We passed by several alleyways packed with the undead. Chain fences lurched and hands slid into the rings, reaching out for us. I could tell Antonio was looking at their faces; the way he'd stare and let his eyes rest on each one of the undead's faces. It was good news to us that he kept moving. That must mean Lovino and Feliciano have to be alive.

It was mostly the shopping districts that had been burned down. So as we approached the apartment building where Lovino and Feliciano lived with their grandfather, we had no choice but to wait and see if they'd come out. There wasn't really any way to alert them without drawing a massive amount of attention to ourselves.

We waited for several minutes, growing more and more paranoid by the second. Then it happened. The sound of glass shattering and a car alarm screeching over and over again drew attention from not just us, but everything else around. I whipped my head around in horror, Gilbert stood there with a metal pipe in his hands and a proud smile on his face. Meanwhile Francis, Antonio, and I were shitting our pants.

"What the fuck, dude?!" I shouted. Not like it mattered how loud I was now.

It happened in a blur. They crawled from all parts of the city, heading toward us. It was a hoard of them. The moaning was a vibration that reverberated through the city and chilled me to my bones. I briefly saw the Italian brothers run out of their building; Antonio dashed toward one, rescuing him and dragging what looked to be Lovino away. Gilbert seemed to have realized his faults. The guy wasn't really much of a thinker. I mean, hell, none of us really were. Francis was probably the smartest one out of us and that's _really_ bad.

The group began to get separated, and I nearly shit myself when I realized the truth. I was alone.

Then gunshots fired off close by, my ears rang. A hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me away.

"This way, keep up with me!" The voice called to me in an accent I couldn't quite place because my ears were ringing so fucking loud. My rescuer guided me through the hoard, shoving the zombies away from me and him.

I was thrown inside of a building, the door shut and locked loudly. Something cold and hard connected with my face and that was the last thing I remember before my vision went black.


	2. Feverish: Chapter 1

"Shit, shit, shit, holy fucking shit," I could hardly breathe, that last sentence took the rest of my voice out. All around us the undead reached out toward us, teeth clicking together and dried blood staining their lips. I was close enough to see flesh caught between the teeth of this abomination. I felt like my eyes were wide enough to be considered dinner plates, and my heart had stopped beating. I knew what I was seeing when it approached me, the shadow of a former being. This thing was once someone, it was once alive. Now all it was was death, coming to take me away and raise me as a part of its army.

I saw it disappear, growing smaller in my vision and then I came to. I looked over my shoulder and noticed Antonio had a hold of my hood and was dragging me through the streets. I stumbled, standing up and whipping my body around. Antonio's hand lingered and I instinctively grabbed it. His grip was firm, and I felt a jolt of pain since he clung to it so tightly. I still felt like I couldn't breathe, there wasn't enough air on this earth to fill my lungs. The adrenaline pumped through my veins, setting my skin on fire. It felt as if it were crawling. I must have been screaming, because then I began to hear again. My voice didn't sound like my own. It was high pitched and desperate, horrified and it sent chills through me. My screaming had attracted a lot of attention. Antonio made a sharp turn down an alleyway. I felt my heart give out and my vision nearly faded to black. More of them were at both ends. We were trapped. I had already given in to death before, what was one more time?

I felt myself being lifted by my hood. The fabric burned against my neck. I scrambled up onto the dumpster that Antonio had dragged me onto. Bloodthirsty hands reached for my beat up boots. I felt fingertips press against my toes, digging down and trying to bring me to them. Antonio flipped open one half of the lid of the dumpster, pushing me inside and then jumping in himself. The lid slammed with a loud thud and an awful squishing sound. Part of me didn't want to know what that was. It smelled awful inside of the dumpster. Not like corpse awful, a scent I had become way too familiar with in the last few days, but like rotting food awful.

The banging of fists had become deafening inside of the dumpster. It echoed off the walls and made it impossible to even think. I felt something touch me in the darkness, and I swatted it away.

"Relax, Lovino, it's me!" Antonio's voice entered my ear and I felt my cheeks heat up with anger. I turned and shoved him, hard, and I heard him yelp in surprise.

"You fucking asshole," I bellowed.

He was lucky that I couldn't see him. I would have attacked him. How dare he say that 'It's just him'. He shows up after the world ends, ignores everything I've been trying to say for days, sleeps all hours of the day, skips his classes and just expects me to welcome him back? He's out of his fucking mind.

I could hear him mumbling something, but it was difficult to make it out with the sound of zombies slamming their fists against the door like a persistent sale's lady trying to sell you makeup.

I reached out in the darkness again, coming into contact with some part of him. I didn't know which, and I really didn't care to. "You fucking asshole!" I repeated, gripping onto fabric.

I didn't want to get emotional, but I can't help how I feel. My whole body was on fire, and I felt severely wronged. "I thought you were dead, you didn't talk to me, you never showed up, I had given up on you. Then you show up like it's nothing, say something so fucking air-headed, and then throw me into a dumpster, literally!" I felt hot tears escape from my eyes and slip down my cheeks. "How could you leave me in the dark?"

My eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness inside of the dumpster, and I could just barely make out the outline of his face. I saw him reach up to his chest, rubbing his cross necklace as if it would give him the answers he needed to get through this conversation. After several moments of silence, apart from the constant banging of fists against the dumpster, he spoke.

"But I did come, Lovino," I could barely hear what he said, I had to lean in to hear.

At that point I became hysterical. I huffed, throwing my hands up in the air angrily. I faked a laugh as tears continued to pour down my face. "Well you almost came too late. Look at the fucking situation we're in, we're in a dumpster that smells like absolute shit. If you had just answered me or came to see me instead of playing video games and sleeping like a lazy ass, maybe you'd have realized sooner that the world was ending. Maybe we could have gotten out of here in time. My brother could be fucking dead right now and it'd be all your fau-"

I was cut off when he pushed me down, climbing on top of me. His hands were on either side of my head and I could feel his hot breath against my face. I shivered as the cold metal of his cross dragged across my collarbone. I didn't know it was possible for my body to heat up anymore. Antonio always managed to surprise me.

"I'm sorry," he sounded so tired, so defeated. I hated that it made my heart break. His eyes searched my face for a reaction before he slowly closed them. "Lovino, I will try to make it up to you, I promise. I think we should be quiet, though. Maybe they'll go away."

Leave it to Antonio to know how to make me angrier than I've ever been before and then calm me down as if nothing had ever happened. I hated how he had that power over me, and I lashed out by shoving him off of me. He fell into a bag that crackled and clinked as cans and empty bottles clashed together. I sat up and turned my face away from him, bringing my knees to my chest. I wouldn't let him have this victory, or any other for that matter. I brushed something strange out of my hair. It smelled sickly sweet and fruity, and was sort of sticky. I wiped it on my jeans, not like they didn't already reek of dumpster anyway.

It felt like hours had passed, the banging was starting to cease. My ears were ringing and the silence seemed misplaced. I wondered what time it was, but only briefly. Opening the top was not going to happen. I didn't have the courage to make that sort of step. Before I could stop myself my eyes travelled to Antonio. He was laying down with his head against trash bag filled with something soft. I didn't hear him snoring, but his eyes weren't open either. His fingers were wrapped around the cross. I couldn't help but think of how things were before the end.

He had asked me to go to his prom with him when I was a junior and he was a senior in high school. Every other one of his friends had dates except for him, and he didn't want to seem like he was lonely, but he told me he didn't really want to take any one of the girls because all of them had dates. He asked me as a friend, well, more like begged me until I finally gave in. It was only because I wanted him to stop the ridiculous proposals. He got one of his friends, I think it was Gilbert, to rig my locker and backpack to explode with glitter that was attracted to glue on my binders to spell out "PROM?". I was angry about that one, it took me weeks to scrub out the sparkles. Then there was the time where he got my brother to help him fill my room with dollar store balloons. The ones floating at the top spelling out the question once more. I knew Feliciano had helped because he waited ever so eagerly for my reaction at the door. I just snorted and went into the kitchen to get a knife. I found stabbing each one of those balloons more than satisfactory, but the horrified look on Feliciano's face filled me with glee. His third scheme finally made me give in. He had borrowed a drone from his friend Alfred, one of the expensive ones. He taped the question to it's body, just below the camera, and flew it up to my window on the fifth floor of my building. When I saw it, I nearly had a heart attack. At that point I knew he wasn't going to give in no matter how many times I said no, and so I sent him a text: "If I go, will you stop this ridiculous shit?" All I got for a reply was the stupid emoji pile of shit with the smiley face. I took that as a yes.

Much to my disdain, prom ended up as something I actually enjoyed. Few juniors ended up going, so I was forced to stick around Antonio most of the night, but he didn't seem to mind. I was concerned more with the fact that I didn't seem to mind. He looked good, like he actually really tried to dress up. His tux was freshly pressed, and his red undershirt made his mocha colored skin stand out. It had grown hot as the evening went on. I shed my own tuxedo jacket and rolled up my sleeves. A few people had ditched for the after parties, mostly the same people who did drugs out back. The prom was too clean cut for them, I suppose. I straightened my vest. I hadn't danced much the entire night, just hovered around watching Antonio show off his dance moves and go crazy with his friends. He easily snatched away girls from their dates, and they followed along with it. Every movement he made was so fluid, it was like watching art. He had asked me to join him, and I shook my head, choosing to grab some punch instead. There was no way I was going to admit that I preferred to watch him rather than dance with him. But as more people cleared out, Antonio held his hand out to me. It was a fast song with an uplifting beat, and the smile on his lips was one that not even I could deny. I stood up, shaking my head and refusing to take his hand but finding my feet moving toward the dance floor with him anyway. He linked our arms at the elbows, I didn't shy away.

Together we danced, he swung me around easily, I felt like he was a puppet master, controlling every movement I made as if it were his body and not my own. The beat sped up, and so did we. I could hardly think of anything else, it was just the two of us and the music. He grabbed me by my tie, pulling me close to him smoothly. His other hand pressed against the small of my back. I felt breathless, like I was walking on air. The beat ended with him throwing me into a dip, and I trusted him not to drop me. He didn't, and he pulled me back up to my feet. I was wordless and panting, and I looked around at everyone roaring, cheering their applause for the two of us. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, but nonetheless Antonio and I bowed for them.

Our moment of fame ended as the crowd dispersed when a new beat came on, this one much slower. I turned away, heading back for the sidelines only to be stopped when a firm hand wrapped around my wrist. Antonio had stretched himself out, the same smile he had flashed me earlier with pleading eyes begging me for one more song. His black hair was all mussed, some of the curly locks stuck to his face from the heat. I didn't know if it was the music, the mood, or the way he held my hand so carefully in his own as I stepped toward him that was making my heart beat out of sync with the slow song. Maybe it was a mix of the three. His rough hand slipped out of mine and I felt them against my waist, never seeking for more than that, but still it made my ears hot. My trembling hands found their way onto his shoulders, I could feel the muscles tense from the touch. We were quiet, just staring into each other's eyes. He was so easy to read, he wanted to get this right. For whatever reason, he wanted this to be perfect, to capture this moment forever in his life. I didn't blame him, I wanted it as well. I would never tell him that, though. There was no way he could ever know.

"-About?" Antonio's voice cut through the memory like a sharp knife, sending it back deep into the archives of my life.

"Huh?" I asked, I didn't quite catch what he had said, he cocked his head to the side.

"You just had a peaceful look on your face, you were smiling. What were you thinking about?" I couldn't believe he had the audacity to ask such a question. I shook my head.

"Nothing," I lied casually, folding my arms. "Nothing you'd be interested in, at least."

"Oh you know me, Lovi, I'm always interested." I could feel his smile in the darkness, I didn't need to look to know that it was there. Antonio was a very open person, and I was a very closed in person. He always tried to get into my head, and I always tried to shove him out. It was a constant game we played since middle school when we first met. I hated him. I still think I do sometimes. Even now I feel strongly about him, but I really didn't want to dwell on what end of the spectrum those feelings were. At least I didn't want to right now sitting in a stinking dumpster while the world had just ended. Things like that seemed too far out of my reach, now. I couldn't help but wonder if I had been too late to act on anything. "Ah, now you're frowning." He interjected.

"Will you stop narrating my life?" I snapped, curling my hands into fists. "Christ, sometimes I want to throw a fist at you." I'm known for having no filter, I said what I meant when I needed to say it. If I disliked something, I'll let the world know. I kept no secrets when it came to my opinions, it left me room to protect my deeper thoughts.

"I know you do, and if you want to, that's fine, really. I probably deserve it, don't I?" He chuckled, and I heard him shuffling as he sat up. He groaned quietly as he stretched, and I felt the rage inside of me boil once more. I had no idea how he could just sit there, most other people fought back. But no, not Antonio. He never fought back, he just quietly endured me and was always kind to me. It confused me. I wanted him to hate me back, I wanted a reason for it.

"It smells in here," I stated bluntly, narrowing my eyes in the darkness. I saw his the outline of his form moving in the darkness. Cans shuffled quietly.

"Well, it is a dumpster, Lovino. Also, it sounds like they're gone, maybe we can make an escape!" I snorted, and then nodded.

"Lead the way," I answered. "But make sure you're quiet, we don't want to attract their attention if they are out there. Just take a peek." He nodded, standing up and trying to make as little noise as possible.

Regardless, the cans clinked together. They sounded more like thunder to me. He lifted the half top of the dumpster but only barely, looking out and around from all ends, sliding around. I didn't trust him to see anything, I couldn't take a risk like that. I stood up to get my own look, his shoulder pressed against mine reassuringly. It made my skin prickle, and I moved away from the touch. I could see them roaming in the streets, but not inside of the alleyway. The darkness of night probably brought them out to hunt. I swallowed nervously, and looked to Antonio. He was looking at me. His dark hair had food tangled in it, making him look rather silly, but for the first time today he seemed… Scared. I gave him a stern nod, looking out to the street. I pressed my palm against the lid, close to Antonio's, and together we raised it up.

It made a loud screeching sound when the rusty metal hinges ground against one another. I felt my heart stop. Several heads turned in our direction, and Antonio jumped out of the dumpster. I followed quickly, and I felt shocking pain ride up my legs as I landed harshly on the ground. The groaning had started, and I saw we were quickly becoming cornered again. The noise was attracting more than I've seen before, former people. Antonio grabbing my wrist brought me back to reality. Antonio leapt onto the chain link fence separating us from the undead and the unknown wilderness. I jumped after him. Fingers scraped at my boots and the chain fence began to shake unsteadily. Antonio jumped off and landed on the ground on the other side. I stumbled over, losing my footing as the fence shook and I landed on my back. I felt the wind get knocked out of me. Greedy hands clawed at my legs and faces pressed against the metal rings. I was inches from death. I scrambled backward with the help of Antonio, who helped raise me to my feet. He threw his arm around me, helping me along as I staggered while trying to catch my breath that wouldn't come. We ran into the woods, not really sure where we were going but it had to be somewhere other than the city. Thinking about it I didn't know which to be more afraid of, a city where they crawl from every nook and cranny, or a dark forest where few wandered but I would never know where.

We went past the forest line, only stopping at a stream when we were a fair distance away from the city. I was panting, and it hurt to swallow. I think I tasted blood in my mouth, the metallic taste was sharp. I put my hand to my lip, drawing it back to see the crimson colored liquid staining my fingers. I must have bit down on it when I fell. Cupping my hands, I dipped them into the cold water. It burnt my fingers and chilled me to the core, bringing it to my face to wash it off. Antonio dunked his head under, running his fingers through his hair to get the crumbs and spoiled milk out. When he pulled his head up with a gasp, he shook like a dog, spraying me. I raised up my hand to try and avoid it, shutting my eyes tightly until the invasion of icy water ended. I glared at him as I opened my eyes. He just smiled stupidly. As if that would make it okay.

I crawled on top of a large rock, lying down on my stomach. The cold rock felt great against my sore ribs. I knew there would be bruises there soon, that fall was not an easy one. I just hoped that I didn't break any, or else I'd be in severe trouble. Adrenaline would not keep me going forever. Antonio leaned against the rock on the opposite side, keeping watch where I was blind. I felt grateful, he wasn't usually one to think of these things. But I was glad that he had started to. I needed him to, and he needed himself to do it as well. The trees swayed as a breeze brushed through the forest. It was almost too peaceful out here. I knew how harsh this world could be, now. I'm not a dreamer, I don't dissociate when things get rough.

I thought of my brother, where could he be right now? Was he okay? Was he alive? Or was he brought back from the dead as one of them, starving forever and roaming about aimlessly. I pushed the thought from my mind. I couldn't afford to think of that right now.

"Hey Lovi?" I turned around to look at him, cocking an eyebrow curiously.

"What?" I asked, keeping my voice steady even though I felt like letting go.

"I'm glad that we're together out here." He caught me by surprise, and I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"You're joking," I retorted, setting my gaze back onto the woods ahead.

He shook his head, the dark locks moving with each turn. "No, I'm not joking, I'm really happy that you're with me. I thought you should know that, just in case."

"Just in case? Just in case what? That you die? That I die?" I sat up on the rock even though my body protested. It was my turn to shake my head, now. "No, Antonio, we're not going to die, don't say those things like it's a goodbye, because this is not goodbye."

He grew quiet, and we were trapped in several moments of silence. It was odd that not a creature stirred in these woods. It was like we were the only things alive here. There were no hooting owls or cracking twigs, no growling undead or scampering squirrels. We were completely, and totally alone.

"I'm sorry, I just got caught up in the moment, hah. You know me."

I grunted in reply, crossing my legs and hunching over on the rock. I slumped against my hand, and pressed it against my cheek.

"Hey, Lovi?"

"What?" I asked, more sharply this time.

It didn't deter him from asking his question. "I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark. That wasn't right."

I turned around, swinging my legs over. My boots knocked against his head. The hard headed bastard didn't flinch. "Do not dwell on the past, idiot." I know it's hypocritical of me to say that, but so far thinking about the past hadn't done me any good.

"What were you smiling about earlier?" I bit my lip, tasting blood as the cut on my lip reopened.

"Why do you want to know that? I said it was nothing." My teeth clenched together, and I brought my fingers to my lip again, patting at the cut to try and stop the small bleeding.

"Were you thinking about the past, Lovi?" He pressed.

"You're really pushing your luck," I growled. He laughed, scratching his head and leaning back to look up at me.

"Sorry, I can't help but be so curious. You're fascinating." I glared down at him, raising one hand to flick him on the forehead. He didn't move aside from shutting his eyes.

"Well I'm not, so stop asking questions. It makes you sound stupid." I turned around again.

The forest was as quiet as I left it before. The suspense was building, there was no way that after today nothing was going to happen for the rest of the night.

"Lovino, I know you told me not to think of the past, but I'm thinking about it anyway. I can't stop it, I just miss the good times y'know?"

"It's not healthy, stop it." I wouldn't move. I refused to turn around again, I knew that if I looked at him I would break, and the last thing I needed was to lose any bit of strength I had left. I was going to need it.

"I can't," He whispered. I felt his green eyes burn into my back. I felt my neck and ears burn. The way he just said that, as fragile as glass… It made my heart beat faster. I felt the puffs of his breath. It tickled the back of my neck. "I can't stop, Lovino."

I stood up. "Then I'll stop you." I stared down at him. It was physically painful for me to break away but there was much more important things to worry about.

"Lovi-"

"Stop saying my name like that you bastard, it's annoying." His lips stretched into a fine line and then he nodded, returning to his own personal space.

"We need a plan." He was wise to change the topic, pretending as if our prior conversation never happened.

"Pfft, no shit. We're not dead yet, but Christ, we're going to be. There's no way in Hell we're getting into the city."

Antonio scratched his head, pursing his lips in thought. "The suburbs?" He asked after a moment, looking up at me expectantly.

"Well it'll be the next most populated place. We'd be taking a risk there too. Some other people had to have been prepared for this, maybe we can search the cars on the bridge?"

Antonio lit up, smiling. "Lovi, you're so smart. See? This is why I can't do without you, you've got that great brain of yours."

"I think it's more like you're just ridiculously stupid." I gave him a sideways glance. He shrugged and laughed. I cracked a small smile, staring at my shoes. I drew a circle in the dirt, the mulch kicked up and created a mountain mixed with pine needles and dead leaves. "So when do you want to go?" I asked.

The darkness was letting up as the sun started to peek up on the horizon. I could feel the pain in my stomach, which of course, growled loudly on cue as if to support the idea of the sooner the better. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to sleep. Not now, not after all I'd seen. I felt like my eyes had been permanently opened. So no matter how sticky they felt and how much the corner of my left eye burned, I would not go to sleep.

Antonio game me a stupid, tired grin. "I know your stomach agrees with you, and mine does as well, but, Lovi… I'm so tired. Can't we rest a bit first?"

"You want to rest here alone out in the open with no one watching your back? This isn't the place to do that. You need to learn not to be such a dumbass or you're going to get killed out here." I chastised, and Antonio yawned at my words. My face reddened significantly. "I'm being fucking serious stop fucking around asshole." He reached over and pinched my cheek and I slapped his hand away. "You're hopeless." I spat. He giggled like a schoolgirl. I stood up and held out my hand to him. "Let's go, we can rest if we find a car."

He slapped his hands onto his cheeks, looking at me as if I had just offered him the lottery. I look to my extended hand and lowered it, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

"You're actually a child." I grumbled, heading on my way back toward the city we had just run so desperately from.

"Ah, w-wait Lovi!" He said, standing up and trotting behind me. I didn't stop, just continued to walk. We weren't that far into the forest, and soon enough we broke out of the forest line. I trudged through the tall grass, pushing it aside through each step. I could see the bridge in the distance, the rising sun made the metal shine brightly. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone else was alive out here. If we had survived surely we couldn't have been the only ones hiding in the shadows? I could see the abandoned cars remained scattered on the bridge. I remember when everyone was in such a hurry to leave. Everyone was so desperate, horns honked and soon enough it broke way to rioting after the quarantine.

I was taken back to the past, the start of it all. It wasn't prevalent at first. Just reports from around the country that people were starting to get sick. No one knew the cause of the virus, or whatever it was. It had never been seen before. Some called it a rapid progression of rabies. Others played with the idea that it might have been released as a form of terrorism. It was all I heard about at home. My nonno wouldn't turn off the news. I would fall asleep at night hearing it faintly through my wall. A woman's voice droned in my head and kept me up to date as much as the government would allow her to. I would occasionally text Antonio, trying to get answers from him or just some knowledge that he might be alive. When he'd reply, I'd always feel a sigh of relief. But for some reason he was very blind to what had been going on. He'd shrug off what I'd say when I tried to warn him of what was happening.

He was living off in the student apartments at the mountain college campus with his high school friends that I hated. I never really made friends during my school years because of my hostility. I was known as the closed in twin while my brother was the extreme social butterfly who was loved by everyone. All in all, it didn't bother me, I preferred to be alone most of the time. My senior year of high school had just started. Some kids were musing that it must be the end of the world. I heard it everywhere, in the hallways and in the classrooms. The teachers seemed to be on edge, quelling fears and trying to dispel rumors. But you can't call the truth a rumor, and soon enough things turned from bad to violent. People would slaughter each other on the streets for medical supplies and food. Gunshots rang out every night, the popping of each bullet as loud as if it were in my room. Small businesses I shopped at burned down and the owners were dragged out and executed, their last memory watching others loot and steal everything they worked so hard to build. I remember how tense my nonno was, staring out into the streets from our kitchen window. Feliciano cried each night, and I could hear him through the wall praying loudly to God. We all wanted answers, but somehow I didn't think that God would be giving them to us any time soon. Or at least we won't get it directly from him. School had been cancelled officially, but Feliciano and I were pulled out long ago. Nonno had suspicions that this was worse than the media was trying to make it. He had theories that the government was behind this. I don't blame him, who wouldn't think it's their fault when the news reporter wore an all too fake smile and spoke with a syrupy sweet voice. It felt like brainwash, and soon enough nonno shut off the tv and instead focused his eyes on the street. The truth lay there, he would tell me.

Antonio and I arrived at the bridge. We climbed over hoods of cars, and I nearly fell face first into the asphalt when one of the undead slammed its fists against the windshield. It was restrained by a seatbelt, the airbag had gone off and it stretch out over it. Antonio put his hand on my shoulder and I shrugged it off, patting my hands on my still smelly jeans to get the tiny rocks off off. Antonio knelt down, grabbing something and testing it in his hands.

"What are you doing?" I asked, and he raised up a metal bar in his hands.

"Guess you weren't the only one with this idea?" He asked, laughing nervously. I huffed and walked past him, heading toward the abandoned RV. Without really thinking I opened the door, and I ended up falling back, hitting my head hard against the road. I felt the crack throughout my body, and my head pounded. I let out a loud screech, or at least I think I did, as the living corpse landing on top of me. I held it by the throat, but God it was so heavy. It's teeth were less than a inch from my face and it drooled on my cheek, or at least I think it did. It was cold, like ice, and its fingers clawed clumsily at my jeans. It was going to rip me apart, I realized. I squeezed my eyes shut, and I knew I was going to die.

I was going to die just like nonno. When he left, he had only left a note.

"Feli and Lovi, I miei nipoti. I love you both very much and that is why I must take the risk to save what remains of our family. If I do not come back within a day's time, please do not come for me. Just assume that I am dead. God's finally punishing mankind for its sins, and if I am to die it is because I have sinned as well. I know you are starving, but please spread my rations between the two of you equally. It should last you a few more days. Hopefully help will come and I have prolonged your lives, and if I do return we will thrive until much longer. Only leave if your life depends on it. I know things have been tough with the loss of your mamma and papà. You two have both been very brave, and I couldn't be more proud to be called your nonno. Your parents would be very proud of you, too.

Ti amo"

Nonno didn't return within a day's time. And he didn't return with a few extra day's time, either. I cut our rations in half even though I was suffering. My insides felt more like a tornado, my stomach screaming for food. And that's when they showed up and rescued us, and thus the story continued on from there.

It was a good run, really. Well, not really. I hardly lasted twenty four hours out here. I was stupid to have thought I may have actually had a chance. There was no way I was getting out of this. I was about to become zombie food. I braced myself for the teeth to rip into the soft flesh of my throat, but it never came.

Antonio whipped the metal bar against its skull with a loud crack, and I felt cold, slimy liquid spray against my shirt and face. I closed my eyes and mouth, tossing my head to the side. It was all over me, the smell of death and dumpster. I was breathing hard as the corpse went limp, and I pushed it off of me and scrambled to my feet. Antonio held the metal bar, his green eyes the size of saucers. It was like he couldn't believe what he just did. I don't blame him, I could hardly believe it myself. I wiped the blood off on my already stained hoodie. The brown sludgy blood came off of my face and onto the sleeves. I couldn't stand to wear the thing anymore. I pulled it off and threw it over the face of the corpse.

"Are you okay?" Antonio asked. He was gripping that metal bar so tightly his knuckles turned white. I swallowed thickly and nodded.

"L-let's just… Get inside. Wait what are you-" Antonio kneeled down by the corpse, slipping his fingers into the pockets until he pulled out a wallet. He waved it in front of me, opening it up.

"Carl Judd." He read the name out loud. "He was thirty eight years old, and he's an organ donor. He has no ring, so I'm assuming he's not married."

"Why do you care so much?" I asked, exasperated as I sat down on the steps into the RV, letting my hands fall into my lap lazily. I had had too many brushes with death recently for my own good.

Antonio shrugged. "Because I would want someone to care about me if our situations were switched." I couldn't argue with that, even though I wanted to. Antonio reached down again, pulling out something that jingled in his hands. "Hey, Lovi! A little respect goes a long way!" He spoke cheerfully, and it caused me to look up from my shoes, furrowing my eyebrows. He pinched a set of keys in his hands, holding up the large one with the RV's brand name on it. "Gracias, Carl!" Antonio said before coming toward me and shuffling past me on the steps. I didn't want to condone his naive actions.

It wasn't a good habit to get attached to the dead, giving these things names would only make it harder. I stood up on the steps, shut the door and grabbed the crowbar as Antonio settled down in the captain's chair. I went through the RV, whoever Carl was, he was certainly a fanatic of the end of the world schemes. He owned several magazines filled with slurs against homosexuals, muslims, and just any other person who wasn't white, etc. The titles read "It's all their fault!" and "Blame the Fags!"

He had the American flag hung up over the windows. I snorted and rolled my eyes. Whoever Carl was before this, he wouldn't want to be appreciated by someone like Antonio. I checked the rest of the RV, there were a few guns hanging around. I wanted nothing to do with those. Guns and I had a shady past, and honestly I was quite terrified of them. Yes, I would be quite fine with the scavenged crowbar. The rest of the RV was empty, save for scattered cans of non perishable food and bottles of beer. I opened the back compartment. There were a few bunks to sleep in, one in the loft area and one on a window. There was a backroom leading to a small bathroom.

I touched the metal handle of the sink tentatively. Please let this work. I thought to myself, taking a deep breath and then nearly falling on my ass as the RV revved and lurched forward. I heard Antonio cheering from the captain's chair. I stumbled out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut and holding the wall as the RV continued to move onward.

"Jesus Christ, Antonio, you're going to throw me out of a window!" I yelled as he took a winding turn, throwing me against the convertible living room/dining room chair.

"Oops!" He said, slamming on the brakes with a screech that probably attracted every one of the monsters in hearing range. Newton's first law dictates that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion. I'm an object in motion, and I flew into a wall and nearly cracked my head for probably the tenth time in the last twenty four hours. If this shit kept up, I'd probably have brain damage and be no more of a brain dead vegetable than the zombies outside.

I crawled in the co-captain's chair, buckling my seatbelt and massaging my temples. Antonio threw the RV in gear again, and we moved forward. My eyes drifted to the mirror, "Objects in Mirror May be Closer Than They Appear" I read. At least I can read, so that's good news for my brain. I saw that they were crawling out of buildings in the city, crawling from ditches in the road, but we blew by them easily.

Antonio's driving was erratic. He had a wild gleam in his eyes and a wicked grin on his face as we swerved past abandoned vehicles on the highway and sometimes the wheels rolled onto grass. I realized that this was the first time I had actually been inside of a moving vehicle operated by Antonio. Somehow, I don't think he owned a license. Not by the way the RV nearly flipped over several times. There was no way in hell he could have passed his driver's exam.

"Can you slow the fuck down? You're going to kill us both if you keep driving like a bat out of hell. In fact, pull over, I'll drive." My face burned and I boiled as he just shook his head and turned on the radio, switching to CD. Country music blared through the speakers and I nearly had an aneurism. Clearly Antonio did as well, as he switched it off quickly.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. I stared dumbfounded at him. He had his phone this entire time and he neglected to tell me. We could have used it as a flashlight but no, Antonio had something better in mind. He shuffled through the compartments, satisfied as he found an aux cord, waving it at me with a dumb grin. I glared angrily at him as he plugged both ends in and shuffled through his playlist oblivious to my anger. I rolled my eyes and slumped back in my chair, staring out the window. I could see a few of the undead roaming around through the feels idly, clueless to our presence. Again the speakers blared, pumping out a loud beat.

Antonio was jamming out in his seat, dancing along to Pitbull's Hotel while slamming on the gas pedal. We rocketed down the road, and I felt my stomach do a flip flop. I just continued to stare out the window, occasionally chastising Antonio when he took the hands off the wheel to dance to another song.

Even when we faced the end of the world, he still remained as optimistic as he ever was, and continued to enjoy life as carefree as he had in the past. The look on my face softened, and I started to wonder if I even wanted him to change. The volume lowered as we slowed down and got to the highway. I stood up and headed back into the eating/living area, opening up the cabinet and grabbing a can of peaches. I returned to the seat, opening the lid with the swiss army knife Carl had left in the front. Antonio gave me a sidelong glance as I slid a peach into my mouth with a plastic fork. His stomach growled loudly and I rolled my eyes, dipping the fork and stabbing a peach.

"Eyes on the road, dumb ass." I reprimanded and brought a peach to his lips. He opened his mouth and smiled, following my orders. It looked like he had just tasted the best god damn peach slice he'd ever tasted in his life. He and I finished the can in only a few minutes, and I drank the liquid, leaving half for Antonio. He drank at it idly. The sun was beginning to set again, and he kept a firm hand on the wheel.

We skimmed around roadblocks set up by the military. They became more and more sparse as we headed out further into the country. At this point it felt like my eyes were bleeding and if I wasn't going to sleep I was going to die. When Antonio nearly fell asleep at the wheel the third time I put a hand on his wrist. He nodded, as if understanding. We pulled over by some cars by the highway. He shut the engine off and we were bathed in darkness. I locked all the doors, and shut the blinds. Every action was automatic. We slipped into the sleeping areas, shutting the door behind us and locking it with a click. I moved a lot in my sleep so I took the bottom single bunk and Antonio climbed into the top loft.

The dead silence unnerved me. Not even the crickets chirped outside. It was if they knew that to make a sound was a deadly mistake. I was grateful for the occasional creak when Antonio tossed over onto his side in the loft bunk. It made me feel less alone. Even though I was dead tired I still found it painful trying to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes I felt those fingers dig into me, felt teeth rip me apart. Just like they did to everyone else. Just like nonno.

After about an hour of trying to get comfortable, sleep finally did take me.

I should have expected it wouldn't be pleasant, nothing could be perfect for me.


End file.
